The Prophecy of Quest
by Sad Little Smile
Summary: My first try at a longer fic; a whole new prophecy unfolds, but for once, Gregor is not included in the prophecy, nor is he the main character. The real protagonist is a female, and she's not even human...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:The Underland, Gregor and all that stuff belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

**Dryadas and Nixclaw belong to me, though. Hah; I own something for once! :P**

**Since it's so cool, I'll be posting something, a poem, lyrics, the definition of a word; anything that inspires me while writing. It probably won't relate directly to what I've written, but...it's cool, y'know? ^^

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**The future depends on what we do in the present. - **Mahatma Gandhi **

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"These are the words left to you, young one, by your sire. Take them, and be gone." The old man handed the orange-streaked black bat, the scroll and left. She bowed after tucking the scroll in a bag hanging from her neck, and skipped to the right, narrowly escaping the scything claws of a rat that had just come down behind her.

"You are getting slow, Dryadas. Have the humans doted on you this month you spent with them?" the rat asked sarcastically as the bat settled down.

"No," the bat replied in deep, quiet tones, which were unnatural for a bat as young as her. "The humans have banished me, Nixclaw, like my father before me. And so I leave to find my destiny, and, very possibly, my death."

Nixclaw shook her head. "A harsh fate, even for a flier. I wish you luck."

"My thanks to you, gnawer friend." Dryadas replied, laying a wing on the rat's head for a moment.

"No need to get emotional," the rat sniffed, and pressing her side against Dryadas's. "I will follow as quickly as possible. Shall we meet in the Shadow Caves?"

Dryadas nodded, taking off once more, after biding the rat farewell. "Fly you high," she called back, and heard Nixclaw's fading reply echo after her..

"Run...like...the...river..!"

Then she was gone, with not even so much as a claw scraping against stone to mark her passage. Dryadas fell into the rhythm of her wings, and listening only to the thrumming of her blood as she sped towards her hideout, which was now to be her home.

Dryadas was an extraordinary exception to the normal personality of bats. She acted shyly around others, to give the impression of weakness, but, when bravery was needed, she was among the first to respond. But that was not so different from her father. No, what marked her out was her uncommon intelligence and her love for music, singing, and reading; similar to her mother's traits, but much more prominent.

She could hear the musicians playing for her, and the others chiming in on a nonsense ballad written by a popular Underland composer, who had taken a special liking to Dryadas.

_Though I be slight of wing,_

_I can, for you, sing._

_To you, joy I bring;_

_Hear me-_

_around you-_

_ring._

"How I miss when everything was so much more simple; when I was Aiode, as my mother called me..." she whispered to herself before turning and maneuvering through a tunnel that spread into a large cave with numerous ledges. She then settled down to wait for Nixclaw, though it did not take long before she could hear the rat's panting echoing around the tunnel.

"I apologize for arriving late; I was delayed by two others trying to uncover my business. It took a while to persuade them to leave." Nixclaw winked at her, then plopped down on the floor to catch her breath.

"It is understandable." Dryadas purred and flipped down to the floor, where she rummaged through the assorted things stored on a shelf, coming up with a water skin, and a bag of medical supplies. "Before I left," she explained, "I took the liberty of borrowing these from Regalia. However, I am sure nothing will be missed."

"Of course," the rat chuckled dryly. "That would be you." Her voice changed suddenly from normal to very eager. "What does the paper read?"

Dryadas blinked. "I had forgotten...I will read it now." She fiddled with the pouch around her neck before pulling the parchment out and spreading it carefully with her claws. Then she began to read.

_And so I leave you my blood,_

_My bones, flesh, and legacy._

_On this Earth, covered in mud,_

_So that you might remember me._

_Though you might stay for eternity,_

_My time was long, and yet too short._

_What is not may still be,_

_So flee from the shadowy sort._

_The time is drawing, oh, so near,_

_When the fire-skinned ones appear._

_Be sure that you would hear,_

_Or you will have reason to fear._

_She will come, prisoner to fires,_

_Bound by flame, with unexpected eyes._

_Sinking through the Time Mires,_

_I bade you, child, say the goodbyes._

_With my legacy words in mind,_

_And hearts set straight and true._

_Leave your natal years behind,_

_Save the Meil that rings blue._

_After all is finished and done,_

_One last choice, if you may,_

_Determines who might be your one._

_So will you go or will you stay?_

Nixclaw shook her head. "It makes little sense to me, but neither do the prophecies that I have heard before. All I can see it that we are to flee from something, then listen."

"Where is says, _She will come, prisoner to fires_, I assume we are waiting for someone...but that is all I can gather." Dryadas shrugged her wings, warmed them up, and lifted into the air. "But come, we are wasting precious time. Let us be gone."

She took to the air as Nixclaw followed her, and together, they ate up the miles; Dryadas keeping a sharp eye out for other rats that might disturb their flight from Regalia.

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"We are approaching the boundaries of the crawler lands." Dryadas called down, as she dodged a very low-hanging spur of rock. "From there, we will camp at the old snapper cave."

"And...after that?" Nixclaw panted back.

Dryadas shook her head slightly. "I do not know; I was hoping you had an idea. The prophecy said something about Time Mires, but I have not heard of these."

"Oh..." Nixclaw signaled a stop, and the bat glided down to settle on a jutting curve of cliff, ten feet above the gnawer's head. "I suggest that we try in Echo's Glory, where the swamplands begin. But it is several day's run from here, and the only way is through many tunnels too small for flying."

Dryadas tested her claws on the stone she was sitting on, and sighed. "We will try there, then. Though I doubt I will enjoy the journey much. And I have much unease, for the 'shadowy sort' have yet to show up. I do not have much confidence that they will be fair."

"We do not know if the 'shadowy sort' are living or not, though the prophecy certainly gives the indication." Nixclaw pointed out. "We have no help, and also, we are only two."

"You suggest we find the Warrior?" Dryadas asked, though she was fairly certain this was true.

"Well...yes." Nixclaw shifted uncomfortably. "Though I have never met him in person, my father spoke somewhat highly of him. I know not if he will help, but it is certainly worth a try."

The bat took one moment to consider it, then nodded. "Then we will go. But which portal shall we use?"

"I suggest in the Waterway, seeing as we cannot go through Regalia to get to their portal. I have heard that the warrior's family has not yet moved, with the condition of his father being too precarious."

"The Waterway it is, then." Dryadas fluttered her wings, stirring up a breeze. "It is good that we are not far from that place; but I will not be able to carry you for long. So hope that our flight will be swift."

"I shall." Nixclaw started running once more, in a slightly different direction - to the Waterway, where they would exit the Underland.

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**The first chapter of my try at a longer fic. Hope you all enjoy it; comments and constructive criticism are always welcome!**

**P. anyone wondering about the 'Meil' it's not a misspelling; it's an important part of the plot. :) But...it's going to be a mystery for now.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:The Underland, Gregor and all that stuff belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

**Dryadas and Nixclaw belong to me, though. Hah; I own something for once! :P**

**Since it's so cool, I'll be posting something, a poem, lyrics, anything that inspires me while writing. It probably won't relate directly to what I've written, but...it's cool, y'know? ^^

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**

_I never knew there would be a better tomorrow  
But you've come into my life and taken away all my sorrow_

_My days of sadness are a thing of the past  
Because I have found true love at last_

_My days of emptiness are gone for good  
Because you fill a void in my heart that you should_

_You've opened a window; you've shown me the light  
And my love for you will continue to burn bright. _

**~Yvonne Warren **

**

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**Several hours and rests later, they were at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Waterway, and very near to the stone opening into the tunnels leading to the Overland.

"Ready, are you?" Dryadas asked Nixclaw, who was shifting somewhat nervously a couple feet from the edge.

"As ready as I can be, given the circumstances." Nixclaw climbed onto her friend's back, careful to avoid pricking the bat's skin with her sharp claws.

She was still a fairly small rat, so she was able to ride without giving Dryadas too much trouble. Not to say that it wasn't still a struggle for the bat. A illness limited to the fliers had wrecked havoc with her breath, and she had only in the past few months been able to take on passengers again.

Dryadas kept her wingbeats smooth and even, however, and they reached the tube-like portal in only a few minutes. After darting up through it, she let the rat off her back immediately, and took in deep, gasping breaths, filling her lungs with air over and over again. The cool, rushing air soothed her burning organs, causing the lightning bolts of pain to cease until they were no more than a dull, nearly unnoticeable ache.

"Are you alright?" Nixclaw looked at her with a worried expression on her face. Their bond was an unusual one; one that had survived for over a year, through all the abuse from others of their kind. In fact, many had labeled them as a traditional bond; after all, Queen Luxa and the gnawer Ripred had bonded. Through them, a sort of bond between Aurora, the Queen's flier, and the gnawer had been established.

"Fine. I am, I mean," Dryadas shook her head slowly. "I am still recovering from the breathless sickness, but it is improving." she picked herself up off the ground and shook her fur free of dust. A cloud of it enveloped her, and she lapsed into a fit of coughing until it settled on the stone floor.

"Uhhhm," she cleared her throat, then whispered to Nixclaw, "Let us go now." From there, they found the way up to the stone slab that marked the portal to the Overland. To be specific, the Central Park of the Overland, as the Warrior had referred to it once.

Touching the stone with a wing, Dryadas let its coolness seeped through her fur and into her skin. "Be you sure about this?" she asked the rat, who was inspecting the edges, looking for the best place to heave the rock upwards. She had no doubt of her friend, only of herself and her own considerably meager abilities.

Nixclaw tested her strength against the stone, and it yielded some, but only a couple of inches. "As sure as I can be. I know the way to the warrior's home, so we will not get lost, though we will have to be careful."

Dryadas set herself against the slab with the gnawer, and together, they slid it open just enough for them to slip out. For a moment, the bat was stunned by her surrounding; it was not day, but it did not seem like night, either. The lampposts were positioned all around, and filled the crisp Autumn air with a luminous, golden glow.

"It is much more beautiful than I had imagined..." she whispered to her friend, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, but let us be off, before some unsuspecting human catches sight of us." the rat nudged Dryadas, and they set off; the flier high above the trees, nearly invisible with her dark fur and the gnawer slipping stealthily from shadow to shadow. Nixclaw seemed nothing more than a shadow herself, with her coat so black that it was seemingly darker than the shadows.

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"Here?" Dryadas asked Nixclaw, as they huddled behind a wall of bushes outside a drab, grey apartment building in the middle of nowhere.

The rat scented the air, then nodded. "Here. Follow me; we do not want to be caught just yet." She led Dryadas around a corner, then in a door that was propped open a couple inches with a doorstop for ventilation. From there they progressed through a janitor's ground level apartment and up several flights of stairs until she signaled the bat to stop by flicking her tail.

"They live in here. Knock; I will hide behind you to keep from frightening them. Hurry; someone approaches." Nixclaw urged her friend on with a little more than words, gently pushing the bat forward with a soft-furred paw.

Taking a deep breath, Dryadas came to the door, and knocked lightly with her claw. They waited for several moments before a shuffling step approached the door from the inside. The bat spread her wings slightly just before the door was opened, and a boy stood in the doorway, eyes dark with annoyance. This quickly changed to surprise as he took in the bat, and he finally hissed, "What are you doing here? No, wait; get in. Hurry!"

Dryadas lifted a wing to reveal Nixclaw, and before the boy could react, whispered, "A friend." They got by him, then, and he shut the door cautiously, before turning on them.

"What the heck are you doing wandering around up here? Geez! Someone could have caught you!" his voice was in a whisper, but it was still harsh, and angry, with a touch of...sadness?

Dryadas didn't waste brain power trying to figure it out; instead she explained in a few short words. "We came to ask for your aid." Pulling the pouch from her neck, she proffered it to who she now knew was Gregor, the Overlander warrior. The Warrior who was rumored to have killed himself, in a way.

"Who are you?" He asked, not even looking at the scroll yet.

The bat purred with amusement. "Do I not resemble someone else you knew and were close to?" she turned slowly in a circle before coming to face him again.

He looked more closely at her now, narrowing his eyes before widening them in surprise. "Oh...oh geez! But how?"

"How does not matter right now, Overlander," she said softly. "But I will tell you the truth. I am the only offspring of your Bond, the great flier Ares, who perished in the War of Time."

He slumped back into a chair that was positioned conveniently behind him and covered his face. "This can't be happening, not after all this time."

"And yet it is." Nixclaw said breezily as she looked around the small apartment where the Warrior lived.

"Will you help us?" Dryadas asked again while settling down on another chair right across from Gregor.

The Warrior looked so torn, Dryadas pitied him. The chance to return to the Underland, the place he'd found love, friendship, but also heartache, and the place he'd met Death, though not of himself. He'd been ripped away from that, however, and he still had a family to look after.

Gregor slowly shook his head. "I can't go back. I can't. I do want to help you, though; I can do that up here, at least." he unfurled the scroll, and read it swiftly, frowning a moment before handing it back.

"It doesn't say anything about me...so why did you come?" he asked, an unfathomable look on his face.

The bat looked at Nixclaw, and the rat gazed back. "Well...you _are_ the Warrior. We thought that because of your experiences of the Underland, and your skill as a warrior..." she trailed off, waiting.

He shook his head once more, seeming undecided about something. "I can't go down, but I'll help you back. That much I can do for you."

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**Finally, finally, another chapter! Sorry all; I didn't intend for this to sit so long without updates, but...yeah. It kind of happened, you know? Anyhow...I'll be updating at least once a week from now on, so long as I'm not gone anywhere on vacations or anything like that. :)**

**As always, comments and constructive crit are always welcome; flames will be added to the fire of my love to write. ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:The Underland, Gregor and all that stuff belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

**Dryadas and Nixclaw belong to me, though. Hah; I own something for once! :P**

**Since it's so cool, I'll be posting something, a poem, lyrics, anything that inspires me while writing. It probably won't relate directly to what I've written, but...it's cool, y'know? ^^**

**By the way, I love the poem this time...so beautiful. ^^ I want to thank everyone who takes the time to write such meaningful poetry; it's a wonderful gift to be able to express yourself so well. :)  
**

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_Rainbows created my imagination  
As it arched across the sky  
On one end there sat you  
At the other end, there sat I_

_Imagining I could slide across  
Over the rainbow to the end  
There would be my pot of gold  
The sweet love of my dear friend_

_The rainbow is a connection  
Like a bridge from me to you  
It appears joined by sunlight  
Then the grey skies turn to blue_

_Arriving after the rainstorms  
It became so evident to me  
Thoughts of love follow rainbows  
They arched right across the sea_

_A colourful arching rainbow  
It has no gate, it has no door  
It reaches from friend to friend  
It arches from shore to shore_

_I smiled up today at the sky  
How far would my loving smile go  
It slid right over to the other side  
The other end of the coloured rainbow_

**Arched Across the Sky**_  
~By Hope

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_"Where are we?" Nixclaw's voice echoed eerily in the cavern, and the running water added an interesting extra scariness to their surroundings. Gregor jumped, stifling a yell but accidentally allowing a squeak to pass through his fingers.

"Would you quit that already?" he hissed at her, turning to point his flashlight at her. "It's bad enough without you adding yourself to the situation, geesh."

They were trekking through the sewers which connected at some point to another portal to the Underland. According to Gregor, he had explored these tunnels frequently in the days since he had left the Underland. Currently, they had come to a more open place in the pipes, and were waiting for Dryadas to catch her breath, again.

"I am sorry...Underlander. I was not always...like this. I am recovering, though." she shook her wet fur, ridding herself of some of the moisture that had collected in beads on almost every hair in her pelt. "I need only...a moment more to rest." She felt incredibly disgusted with her own weakness, and was considering letting the others go on ahead though she didn't like the thought.

"No problem." Gregor half-grumbled – he wasn't in the best of moods when he was soaking wet. Ah well...at least it was clean water and not something worse, like the rotten egg-smelling water that dripped perpetually in a tunnel he had been through several times. "We'll be at the portal in a few moments. Will you be able to make it, Dryadas?"

She gave him a somewhat skeptical look and answered, "Yes, of course, provided it is no more than an hour's flight from here to the land down below."

Nixclaw, who had remained silent until now, gave a small snort. Dryadas was in no shape to fly for an hour straight, carrying a rat – even one as small as her. She sighed inwardly and continued splashing ahead of the others, forging her way through the dankness of the sewers. After pausing to listen for a scant moment, she crept back to the others as quietly as possible.

"We're being followed. Or possibly even set up for an ambush." she coolly informed Gregor, who scanned their surroundings instinctively before using echolocation to check down the pipe opening out on every side.

"What is it?" he whispered, not seeing anything recognizable let alone anything. _It would seem that even echolocation had its limits,_ he decided.

"It sounds like...snappers, but they have not the same clicking. Nor crawlers. More like..." Her eyes widened and she stretched her ears as far out as they would go. Dryadas followed her example and frowned, unnaturally expressive for normal bat. Of course, she was far from normal, but still.

"No..." she echoed softly. "Not crawlers, or snappers..." they both continued listening intently, such odd looks on their faces that Gregor almost laughed, though there was nothing funny about the situation.

"Will they try to stop us?" he breathed, barely audible even to himself though he knew they would easily hear his words. Even in here, when one spoke softly, the sounds bounced off the walls, increasing decibel by decibel until they were audible to anyone with an ear to hear.

Nixclaw nodded, finally giving up on her listening. "They come, and I know not what they are. Have you a sword, Warrior?"

In answer, he pulled a sword, which had been tucked so neatly under his long shirt that neither bat nor rat had noticed it before. After hanging the electric lantern on a twisted spur of metal jutting from the wall, he glanced down the pipes once more and was rewarded with a sight that was, however disturbing, better than nothing.

In the water that flowed incessantly down the bigger pipes, looming, long-armed shapes with bulbous bodies drew closer. Somewhere from down the tunnels, a slow, periodical, and loud snapping noise emanating, filling even the Warrior with a measure of fear.

"Oh, geez." were Gregor's final words before the monsters mercilessly attacked.

__________

Nixclaw and Dryadas watched as their friend went into rager mode, spinning and slicing off several of the creatures' limbs. The blood oozing from them was so dark it could have been black and there was no way to avoid being splattered by it. The smell was foul enough to cause even Nixclaw trouble, mainly attempting to resist the heaves that threatened to disable her. Shoving her nose swiftly into a patch of mud, she took care of her sense of smell for the moment.

Meanwhile, Gregor was oblivious of the stench, of the two mammals behind him, fighting off yet another creature, and the burning of a tentacled lash. His sword scythed through the last arm of the octopus nearest him, and the mollusk flopped weakly on the floor. Half a minute later, it was still, suddenly just like so much sushi.

As one of the creatures let out an unearthly stuttering shriek of rage, Dryadas saw the monstrous beak that had produced the snapping noise from before. It had a deadly serrated edge, and she didn't have time to warn Nixclaw before the creature struck her friend.

The rat dodged as best she could given the circumstances, but let out a high-pitched squeak as the beak clamped onto her ear, slicing cleanly through it. Dryadas hissed and threw herself at the octopus, biting deeply into one of its arms close to the body and clawing at the head with all her strength. Within seconds it had flung her off of itself, and as she shook her head, blood spattered around the chamber. With renewed rage she leapt at the octopus once more, severing a limb and severely mauling another with her slashing forepaws and claws.

Seeing her opening, Dryadas dove, partially distracting the octopus from Nixclaw and giving her friend an opening in return. Together they managed to sever another limb, and the mollusk's squeal of pain and anger caused the bat's ears to sing with the echoes of the octopus's voice.

While the bat and rat together took on the one mollusk, Gregor was battling at least three others, and without much difficulty. After losing several limbs while trying to kill him, they squelched back from him as if considering their options. In a moment they disappeared down a gaping pipe, leaving nothing behind save their detached limbs and the foul stench of their blood.

Gregor had turned in a flash to help the other two with the only remaining octopus, but before he could land a single blow it seized Nixclaw with an unscathed tentacle and disappeared down a gaping hole, dragging her behind bodily.

It took Dryadas a moment to actually realize that her friend was nowhere to be seen, and Gregor could hear the building up of a scream he'd heard only once before. Ares, when he was in the ultimate torment from the hellish currents in a cave they'd passed though once, had screamed in much the same way. The ultimate expression of suffering bats, it seemed like such a long time ago and brought back memories he'd rather leave forgotten, so Gregor just stood there, listening, a shocked look encroaching his face.

The bat's piercing scream broke off into horrible, ragged sobs, and she took flight, trying frantically to follow the slippery creature that had stolen her closest and possibly only friend. When she crashed into a wall, missing the tunnel by feet and stayed there, shaking and weeping, Gregor could see the full extent of her agitation and sorrow.

"I..." Gregor stopped before he had really started, feeling nothing he could say would console Dryadas at this point. After all, what does one say to another when the person closest to them of all is suddenly snatched away? "I'm sorry." he finished lamely, feeling how truly inadequate this sounded.

"I know," Dryadas whispered limply, wings askew in a way that appeared painfully uncomfortable. "So am I..."

Several minutes later and with difficulty, she composed her face and gazed evenly at Gregor. "I will continue on my own. Go home, Warrior; from now on, this quest is mine, and mine alone."

Gregor's eyes widened slightly at her last words, but he didn't object – not visibly. "You're going after her, aren't you?" It wasn't a question; more a statement of fact.

She nodded once, then turned. "You do not need to stay with me. I release you from any obligation you have to help me. After all is said and done, in the end, she is my friend."

"I know." he replied mournfully, unable to turn away from her dark gaze, but wanting badly to rest his eyes on a sight that wasn't so heartrending. There was something in the bat, so unlike any others in her species, that was different to a degree that both frightened and intrigued him at the same time.

"I bid you goodbye, Warrior, and may happiness follow you wherever you happen to travel. Fly you high." she turned immediately and disappeared down the tunnel, wings beating silently and heart and mind set on rescuing Nixclaw.

"-Good luck!" he choked out, not sure she had even heard, or if she had, that she would acknowledge it. Either way, he wanted to have it said.

"To you...as...well..." her voice bounced to him, sounding miles away already.

* * *

**Sorry about the looooooong time between updates; I've only recently had time off of school and stuff to actually write, or rather, edit my writing. :P It's amazing to me how different my writing has become as apposed to half a year ago. I was just reading through this the other day, and I was amazed how much better I am at writing now. I'm a lot better with using more vivid verbs, better adjectives and adverbs and all that now, though I'm still comma-happy as always...but I'm improving.**

**It's interesting to watch someone improve at things; in a way, I suppose it's like dancing or skating, or any fine art. You watch someone from the time they begin their class or careers, and you watch as little by little, everything changes. Maybe they get more graceful, and the sweep of their arms leaves you dazzled, or maybe that triple Lutz(sp?) comes out so amazingly beautiful and perfect that you can't see anything that the person could improve on...but yeah. It's an amazing journey, and it's all the more amazing if you get to be included in it. ^^**

**Anyhoo...comments and constructive crit are totally always welcome; I don't mind crit at all, so long as it's constructive. It's a learning experience, and though the person may not always be right, I still value their opinions.**

**Thank you everyone for reading this, and I hope you enjoy reading more! :)**


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